Dr. Sindee L. Simon obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering at Yale University in 1983, and then worked at Beech Aircraft Corporation as a materials engineer on the all-composite Starship for three years. She obtained her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Princeton University in 1992, and from there, she went directly to the University of Pittsburgh where she was an assistant professor of chemical engineering. In 1999, she joined the faculty of chemical engineering at Texas Tech as an associate professor. In 2004, she became a full professor, and in 2010, she received the university's highest academic honor, Paul Whitfield Horn Professor. She took over her current duties as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering in September 2012.

Dr. Simon's research interests include the physics of the glass transition, cure and properties of thermosetting materials, and properties and reactivity at the nanoscale. She has published 93 refereed journal publications, has over 2100 citations, an h-index of 25, and has garnered over $6 M in research funding over her career. She has received numerous honors, including Fellow of the APS, SPE, and NATAS, the 2014 SPE Research / Engineering Technology Award, and the 2014 NATAS Outstanding Achievement Award.